You're a Flame in My Heart
by awhitewolf
Summary: The story of Airi Kobayashi, a detached girl with a reckless and rebellious attitude. After leaving home, she sets out on somewhere to stay for a few nights only to later on find herself somehow living with three cursed boys and a girl named Tohru Honda from school. Can this edgy girl possibly help ease the burden of the Sohma curse or will she fail just like the rest before her?
1. Prologue

**Prologue:**

* * *

The steady hum of the motorcycle and the force of the wind loudly whipping my hair out behind me were the only apparent sounds I could hear at the moment. I looked towards my right, my eyes in a daze as I took in all of the houses, shrubbery, and surrounding people passing by me in a blur. Moving my head to lean against Aki's shoulder, I deeply breathed in his scent - he smelled strongly of leather, cigarettes, and cheap cologne. With a light sigh, I readjusted my grip, loosely interlacing my fingers together in front of his long torso.

Aki glanced back at me, "You're house is on the left of this street, right?"

I nodded into his back before raising my head to speak loudly over the sound of moving wind, "Are you sure I can't just stay longer with you? I really don't want to go home just yet…"

He slowed down the motorcycle significantly before halting to a stop right in front of my house. Ignoring my question, he paused to remove his helmet and shake out his sleek jet-black hair, responding blatantly, "Ah look, we're here already, Ai-chan."

I crossed my arms in front of my chest, annoyance evident in my voice as I watched him get off the bike, "Don't ignore the question, Aki."

His gaze steadily met mine for a second before closing his eyes, letting out a deep sigh, "Look, ya know I'm going to be with the guys' tonight, dontcha? I mean, they're gonna' be mad if I bring you with me to 'guys night' even though you_ are_ my girlfriend…"

I got off the bike, a scowl placed on my lips as I stomped past him still irritated, "Fine then. I get it so you don't need to say anything more."

"Hey, come on. Don't be like that, babe." He called from behind me, catching up to me to grab my hand, pulling me backwards into his chest.

I quickly turned around and pushed against him, "Let go, Aki! My parents are going to go psycho if they see us…"

He gave me a sleazy smile, "But I still need a good bye kiss. Please, at least that."

Rolling my eyes, I thought to myself, _'Oh, fuck it'_, and placed my arms around his neck giving him a deep, long kiss before pulling away with a smirk, "That good enough for ya'?"

He blinked a few times, stunned before responding slowly, "Yeah… I didn't _actually_ think you'd do it though."

I scoffed, looking up at him, "Well I'm your girlfriend, aren't I? So you should be expecting more where that came from!" I gave Aki a wink at the end before escaping his hold on me.

We said our goodbyes and I watched him while he waved at me then jumped back on to his motorcycle, revving up the engine before driving away.

A feeling of dread spread through out my body as my head dropped and I slowly made my to walk towards the front door my house. Placing my hand on the door handle, I hesitated.

'_My parents… hopefully they didn't see the two of us outside just now. I really don't want to deal with them, but that's inevitable seeing how I already am coming home when it's so dark outside…'_ I took my hand off the door, backtracking my steps cautiously, _'Maybe I can wander around and sneak in later when they're asleep… Yeah, that's right. I'll just do tha- '_

Suddenly the door slammed open, my mother looking infuriated with her hands placed on her hips, my dad towering over her from behind with the same exact expression.

"WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN?! Get inside the house right now! It's past curfew so your reason better be good!" She exploded, as I flinched at the volume of her voice.

I walked into the house calmly, shutting the door behind me swiftly before locking it.

We stood, waiting in silence for a few moments before I moved my hand from the lock and casually spoke over my shoulder, walking into the kitchen, "Well if that's all, then I'll be getting the leftovers from yesterday's dinner in the fridge~!"

My mother looked flabbergasted and the two of them followed me into the next room, even more upset as my mom screeched, "Hey! We aren't done talking with you just yet! You haven't even answered any of our questions! Just where have you been?! It's eleven at night!"

I turned to face them, dryly answering, "I was just at a friends house. We were studying for the math test tomorrow…"

She glared at me, "BULLSHIT! You're grades have been horrible for months now! And we saw you with that boy earlier. We aren't stupid! We know what you've been up to!"

I smirked, expecting what was going to come next seeing as our fights happened nearly every night, "_Oh?_ And what's that?"

My mother grasped her head in her hands, as if she were to pull out her hair and groaned, "I CAN'T STAND YOU AND YOUR ATTITUDE ANYMORE! IT'S SO IRRITATING! WHY CAN'T YOU JUST BE A NORMAL KID AND DO WHAT YOU'RE TOLD?!"

"And what have I been doing wrong?" I questioned innocently, quirking one of my eyebrows, somehow enjoying the fact I could act like this towards her since my father was here.

"**_This_!**_This_ is all wrong!" She motioned at me.

She continued on in a rant, her voice getting higher and louder, "I understand why you've been acting out recently but this is too much! You're grades are horrible, you get in trouble all the time, you go out every night doing _god knows what_ _with who and where_, you never give us any explanations, you've made no effort in making the right kind of friends, and now you play around with guys like some kind of _slut_! I can't believe that you've become like this! We always thought you'd be the pride of the family, but all you have amounted to is becoming a huge disappointment!"

I rolled my eyes in annoyance, _'What a joke. You never thought that I would be the pride of the family, it was always him… Who do you think you're kidding?'_

She stood there panting but still looked angry as if she wanted to say more. My dad interjected, "Honey, I think that was a little much…"

I chuckled bitterly, mockingly speaking, "No, I actually think there's a little something more she wants to say to me. _Am I correct_, _Mother_?"

"Shut up, you ungrateful brat! I don't think you even get the right to act this way since it was you that-" She cut herself off knowing it was better not to say what she was about to say, especially not in front of my father if she really wanted to keep together this act she had going on.

At that moment something, an emotion, came over me so strongly I almost fell over.

My voice came out barely above a whisper, as my eyes became downcast, "_**What?**_ _It was **me** that what_?"

"Nothing. Never mind." She replied, backpedaling. "It's-" She started to say.

I snapped my head up, my tone coming out scathingly cold, "No. What were you about to say?"

"It was nothing. I-"

I interrupted again, "Say it."

"I…Maybe I…."

"Just say it already."

"But…" She trailed off.

"_SPIT IT OUT DAMNIT!_" I shouted at her, unable to contain myself any longer.

"_IT'S YOUR FAULT HE'S GONE NOW! IT WAS YOU THAT DID IT AND NOW HE'S GONE FOREVER! STOP ACTING LIKE A VICTIM WHEN IT WAS YOU THAT HAD RUINED OUR FAMILY!_" My mother yelled right back at me, her whole body shaking from her outburst.

She dropped to her knees, falling to the ground, sobbing into her hands pathetically as my dad moved to comfort her.

After a few seconds she sputtered out from her place on the ground, tears falling from her eyes, "I just- I can't stand to be around you anymore even though you_ are_ my daughter…_I-I can't help but wish at times… that it would have been **you** in place of him_."

I stood in shock, just as I did every time after her outbursts, knowing that all her words were true since I've heard them before from her(just not with my father around), all except for that last phrase. I couldn't possibly defend myself now. For some reason, although I had believed that they had always thought it would be better if I had died, I never thought that she, my own mother, would ever say it aloud to my own face. I had always been constantly reminded that everything that had happened was my fault but I guess even though she always has had so much to say, she really was holding herself back.

My father looked at me with what I never expected - blank, unsympathetic eyes, his monotone voice uttering words that I wish I hadn't heard but sadly did, "I think you should leave."

That knocked me back into reality and I gasped loudly, like a fish out of water, "What?"

He corrected himself, "Ah, it won't be forever but just for a little while… I think it would all do us some good if we weren't together."

My eyes watered, "But I don't have anywhere to go… What am I supposed to do? Where am I supposed to go?!" I shook my head around, getting more and more upset, "You just want to get rid of me, don't you?! You probably hate living with _such a horrible person- no, not even a person- a horrible **thing** like me!_"

"Wait! No, that's not what we meant!" My father reacted quickly as I stomped towards my room, locking the door behind me.

_'Stop lying… It was exactly what you meant. If Mother even says it to my face, then you must have been thinking it… Just leave me alone.' _

My father banged loudly on the other side of the door, trying to talk to me out of leaving while I easily ignored him. Packing my things, I wiped at my eyes filled with angered tears roughly and stuffed whatever I could possibly fit into my duffel bag, making sure to have all my necessities: a pack of Marlboro cigarettes, a Gameboy, personal hygiene items, a thing of pepper spray, as many clothes as I could fit into my bag, some memorable things lingering about my room, my disgusting sailor suit uniform I had to wear for school, and a very, very small amount of money I had laying around(about three US dollars).

I picked up my jacket, putting it on, then moved to slip my duffel bag over one shoulder and my school bag over the other. I walked over to the door almost ready to open it when I remembered I had forgotten something.

Walking over to my closet, I stuck my hand in one of my old rain boots until I felt the item I was searching for in my hand and pulled it out. I looked at the silver flask for a few moments then unscrewed the top before taking a large swig of the whiskey inside and putting it away in my bag.

I left my room hurriedly, still ignoring my father while he followed me down the hall. Suddenly, he grabbed my arm to keep me in place so I'd be forced to listen to him.

"Airi, _please_ just stay here! I didn't mean what I said back there, it was just in the heat of the moment and I'm sorry! Your mother and I both love you and we don't want you to leave just yet." He pleaded with me.

His words only amounted to creating a heavy weight on my chest as I looked to the floor, chin down so as to avoid his gaze, thinking towards my father,_ 'You're trying so hard… but it's okay. I know what I need to do.'_

Interrupting my few moments of silence, my mother came between the two of us, pushing me away from my father, "Although you're my husband, you don't get the right to speak for me!" She directed towards me, "And as for you, I think you leaving us would be for the best, at least for now… So hurry up and get out of our home! _We've had enough of you_!"

Disregarding my mother's hurtful words, I softly smiled up at my father probably for the first time in months, "It's okay, Father. I'm not that ignorant and can understand when I am no longer wanted. I also don't want to be a burden on either of you, so as of now, I won't be apart of this household."

Walking off again to exit the house, my father stopped me again, "Wait, at least take this… I know it's not much but it's all I have on me right now…"

I looked down at the amount of money in my hand and gave my father a quick hug, "Thank you. I'll miss you so much."

He looked at me sadly as I opened the door with my back to him and walked out, shutting it behind me.

"I'll miss you too, Airi." The man muttered only for his ears to hear.

* * *

"Hey, this is Aki. Sorry I can't get to the phone right now but just leave me a message and-" With a loud, exasperated groan, I slammed the pay phone down on its hinges.

Disappointment flooded throughout my body as I fell into a heap on the ground leaning my back against the glass of the phone booth, resting my head on top of my arms that had wrapped around my knees.

I sighed deeply, murmuring to myself, "Damn it… What the hell am I supposed to do now?"

_'That idiot of a boyfriend was my only place to go to and yet he didn't answer at any of the usual bars he goes to or even his own house phone… Just what is he doing? He should be back already…'_ I thought irritably.

Beginning to stand, I left the booth and started walking down the sidewalk towards a mini mart about two blocks away. _'Whatever. Since he can't help me there's no one to rely on but myself, I guess.'_

* * *

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FRUITS BASKET.**

**Hey guys! It's been awhile and I'm really really sorry for that… Anyways, this is my new story so hopefully you guys like it so far. Next chapter, you'll get to see Airi meet some of the Sohma's! As for my other story, 'Another Chance at Happiness', I have not given up on it, I am just simply taking a break since I have really bad writer's block. THANK YOU FOR READING AND PLEASE REVIEW!**


	2. Chapter 1: And So It Begins

**Chapter 1 - And So It Begins:**

* * *

Hearing a large gust of wind pass by me as if by another person's movement, I turned away from the source and mumbled incoherently, snuggling as close as I could to the thick tree's trunk. Loudly, a branch broke, snapping in two from the tree across from me and I promptly felt the tree creak from weight that had come from above where I sat, guessing that it was probably a bird.

'Why is this crazy chick sleeping in a tree?' you must be wondering. Well, to answer your question, I decided to sleep in this tree last night to avoid any creeps that wandered around at night in the forest I had just so happened to (literally)stumble across after I left my old home.

Knowing I was fully awake by then, though I didn't want to be, I let out a yawn, pulling my arms up over head. Still a bit groggy I slowly began opening my eyes only to surprisingly meet the gaze of another person. He was about my age and held unusual red eyes that looked like rubies, dark tan skin, and orange hair the shade of a carrot that looked as though it were died.

His eyes were wide and his mouth ajar seeing as he was just as stunned by my presence as I was of his. Briskly, he overcame the shock and scowled, pointing a finger at me, "WHAT THE HELL! WHO THE FUCK ARE _YOU_?!"

I winced at the proximity of his thundering voice before quipping back, "I could ask you the same thing…"

The kid looked offended before shouting, "I'M SOHMA KYO AND THIS IS SOHMA PROPERTY, SO I'M ALLOWED TO BE HERE! NOW ANSWER THE DAMN QUESTION!"

Feeling a headache coming on from last night's drinking, I rubbed my temples groaning out, "Alright, alright. God, just calm down for a second, _Carrot Top_."

"What did you just say?!" He asked ferociously.

I waved my hand up and down, dismissively, "It was nothing, just forget about it." Taking a breath before continuing, I looked up at Kyo plainly with no expression, "I'm Kobayashi Airi. It's a pleasure to meet you."

A ticked off expression took over his features and he lowered his voice significantly to a normal tone, speaking skeptically, "You don't sound very pleased…"

"Wow, _really_? I didn't notice." I stated with heavy sarcasm.

Kyo clenched his fists, crouched forward, and yelled, "SHUT UP, YOU BRAT!"

I countered back, slightly enjoying getting under his skin, "Oh yeah? Why don'tcha make me?"

His face contorted into an appearance of absolute lividness as I could nearly imagine the steam spouting from his ears while he sat there red-faced, getting more angry by the second like he was actually going to explode. Just as he began to open his mouth to retort something, I began to snigger at him.

Kyo looked confused and had narrowed his eyes at my figure, "What's so damn funny?"

Unable to control myself any longer, laughter bubbled up through my throat thunderously and I held my stomach, struggling to breath. Stuttering out words between quieted down giggles, "Y-you… Your face…" I tried to say but ended up bursting into another laughing fit.

After I had calmed down, I climbed up to the branch he was on and plopped down right beside him while he continued to stare at me weirdly as if I were an alien.

"You really do have a bad temper, huh?" I noted boredly, looking over at him from the corner of my eye.

Glaring at his hands in his lap, he hunched his back grunting out, "I don't need you to tell me that."

"Yeah, I guess…" I drifted off.

We sat in silence for sometime before he questioned abruptly, "So…why are you here?"

I stubbornly responded, "You first."

Rolling his eyes, Kyo answered, "I'm here to finally prove myself and beat that ra-", he corrected himself, "I mean, that annoying girly boy once and for all!"

Not wanting to question anything of what he said further due to the pounding in my head, I nodded and acted like I totally understood what he was talking about, "I see. That's… _interesting_…"

Brushing off what I said, he turned to me, "Okay, now you have to answer. Are you homeless?"

Offended at his rudeness, I furrowed my brows declaring, "No, I am not homeless! I mean, yeah I got kicked out of my house… but _that doesn't mean I'm** homeless**_!"

He blurted out incredulously, "Are you an idiot?! I'm pretty sure that _does_ mean you're homeless!"

My eyes widened, _'Right… he's right. I am homeless now when I think about it, I've just haven't really thought about it too much. Maybe I've been in denial…'_

Not getting an answer from me and probably regretting how he acted, Kyo scratched the back of his head confessing, "Look, I know I'm not good at talking to people and I'm sorry I didn't say that very nicely but… I think… Er…" He snapped his head back up to face me, finally finding what he felt like saying, "You shouldn't be living here in a tree though…They have places for homeless people, don't they…? Why don't you just go there?"

Breaking out of my thoughts, I glared at him sharply replying, "It's none of _your_ goddamn business where I go so don't suggest something _as stupid as **a fucking shelter**._" Calming down a bit I continued in a softer voice, while looking off to the side, "Besides… as soon as I can get ahold of my boyfriend, I'm going to go with him and stay at his apartment."

Standing up, I glanced down at Kyo before he could even comprehend the words I had spoken and sighed, "Anyways, now that I've wasted all this time here, I'm definitely going to be late to school. So for now, good bye Kyo… Maybe I'll see you around sometime."

And with that I scooped up my school bag, hurriedly climbed down the tall, old oak tree and ran off. _'Sohma… that name sounds really familiar for some reason…'_

* * *

Trudging into the classroom, I lowered my chin as to not meet anyone's gaze and quietly made my way to my seat praying that my teacher wouldn't notice my presence and scold me for being late. Although fate was obviously not on my side today when my teacher expressed his anger at me, thus making me freeze in place, "Kobayashi-san! Just where have you been this whole class time? It's the middle of third period!"

Turning around, irritated from all of this week's troubles I couldn't keep myself from mocking heavily, "I _was_ at home since I wasn't feeling well but I feel much better now so I decided out of the goodness of my heart to come to school, not wanting to miss any of your_ oh so important_ _lectures_,**_ Sensei_**."

The man glowered at me, disagreeing, "You've obviously skipped school a lot in the past so I'm sorry to say I don't believe you're excuse or the idea that you actually _want_ to be here."

A bit shocked at his stupidity, I thought to myself_, 'Damn, how much of an idiot are you? Obviously what I said was sarcastic.'_

Making my way to my seat, I sank back in it lazily and explained with a smirk, "Well, seeing as you have no proof that I'm lying or that I was apparently _'ditching class' _", I put in air quotations before continuing, "You can't do anything about me being late to class today."

My smirk grew into a devious grin as the teacher struggled to say something before slamming down his hand on the table in front of him and bursted fourth, "That is enough, Kobayashi-san! You have detention after school today!"

Furrowing my brows together, I sat up in my seat, exclaiming, "_What_? Why! You can't do that! I haven't even done anything wrong!"

He countered, "Well, it looks like I just did. Maybe next time you'll learn _not_ to disrupt my class."

Scowling at him while he turned to write on the board, I dropped my head on to the table with a loud thud and internally groaned, _'Dear God, why are you being so cruel to me? As if this week wasn't bad enough already…'_

And within what had felt like days(but was really only twenty minutes), the bell had rung. Jumping up out of my chair, I nearly sprinted out of the room.

I drifted dully to my next class within the crowd of students wearing the exact same look of dread as I was. My eyes were undoubtably glazed over until I spotted a familiar tall figure with a face full of piercings. _'I know we're not friends but he does hangout with Aki a lot so maybe he'll know what's up with him…'_

I came back into reality while running over to the said person, I pulled him out of the traffic of high schoolers addressing urgently, "_Itaru_! Were you with Aki last night?"

Itaru was a really tall guy who towered over everyone at his six foot three height but was a bit under the average weight with only some lean muscle. He had an average oval shaped face with fairly pale white skin and murky green eyes that were the color of swamp water. His piercings were found on his nose, two on his left eyebrow, one on his lip, and several more on both of his ears. Looking a bit closely, I noticed he had a chain connected from one of the many piercings on his right ear to another piercing. My eyes crawled up to his usual short hair that was about a few centimeters long as if he just got it shaved months ago and also saw that he had bleached half his head pure white and the other half left its normal black color making it out to look like a yin and yang symbol.

Despite his looks, Itaru was a seemingly nice guy but didn't talk much which is most likely why he isn't friends with people here at this school. But it's also strange considering the fact he hangs out with Aki and his group of punks from a different school.

Glancing down at me, he noted the distress in my voice and replied in his usual deep tone, "Yeah, he went out together with us. Why? Is something wrong?"

Unwilling to tell him the reason for my desperation over the matter, I played with the hem of my skirt mumbling, "Er…kinda… ", Glancing up into his eyes I continued, "I can't reach him anywhere, I've tried his house phone, all the regular places he goes to, his mom… just about everyone!"

"Oh… well I remember that him and a few others were randomly talking about going on a trip but I didn't think they actually meant they were going to leave on the spot…"

My jaw dropped in disbelief processing what Itaru said before I shut it and my left eye began twitching as I tried to hold it in- but after a few torturous seconds I exploded in rage, "WHAT THE HELL! _WHY_ WOULD HE DO THAT WITHOUT EVEN TELLING ME, THAT STUPID ASSHOLE!"

People began to stare at the two of us but mostly me while Itaru tried to calm me down unsuccessfully, "Uh Airi… I think you should calm down…"

I ignored him and at that point was relentless as I still shouted, "_**HELL NO**, I WILL NOT CALM DOWN_! HOW LONG IS AKI GOING TO BE GONE?! WHERE DID HE GO, ITARU?!"

By the end of my question, I had grabbed a fist full of his uniform and proceeded to pull him down until he was forced to look into my burning eyes. He stuttered out, "H-he most likely went to Shinjuku. As for how long he'll be gone, it could be a week or two… maybe a month…"

Letting go of his shirt and backing away, I lowered my head and laughed darkly muttering, "_A month_…? **_A month_**!" Snapping my head up, my eyes more than slightly insane, I laughed hysterically, "_That bastard would be better off never coming back after the pain he'll be getting from me!_"

Willing to get away from me as soon as possible probably grateful he didn't have a girlfriend(especially one like me), he backed away nervously, "Um, well I have to go to class now so… I'll see you later then!"

Sighing in annoyance at his retreating form in the empty hallway, I sharply turned around with my eyes closed, took a step forward, only to hear a body slap onto the ground.

Looking down at the ground, I saw a girl with small white bows in her long rustic brown hair picking up all of her scattered items that had fallen on the floor all while apologizing profusely to me, "Ah, I am so so sorry! It's all my fault that I bumped into you because I'm clumsy and… I'm just so sorry! I-"

I interrupted abrasively, my bad mood getting the best of me, "Stop apologizing. It was my fault, so you can stop already. It's getting annoying."

Dropping on to my knees beside her, I began picking up pencils and stacking some textbooks while she stared at me with her innocent chocolate brown eyes and said in a softer voice, "Oh I'm s-" She stopped herself and kept quiet.

Feeling bad for unleashing my anger on to her I reprimanded myself, _'Geez, you don't have to be so mean to her… She hasn't done anything wrong to you… And she's even apologizing for your mistake! Just cut her some slack!'_

Running a hand through my long, black waist length hair, I sighed and passed her some of her books with a half smile, "Um, I'm sorry if I came off a little rude, I just… Today's been really bad for me and I want to apologize again especially since _I'm_ the one who knocked you over."

Taking the books in her hands, we both stood up and I noticed I was a bit taller than her while she grinned brightly at me, "It's alright, I don't mind at all. I'm Honda Tohru by the way! It's nice meeting you!"

I nodded at her, and introduced myself casually, "Kobayashi Airi. Nice meeting you too, Honda-san."

And suddenly the warning bell rang, sharing a look with one another, she waved, "Goodbye! Maybe we will see each other again soon!"

I smiled and gave her a wave over my shoulder before walking in the opposite direction towards class. _'She seems very pure and cheerful… almost like K-' _Stopping myself right there, I shook my head free of the thought and continued to walk forward.

* * *

Trudging my way through the woods, I looked up the trees wondering which one I had slept in before. _'Damn it… I should've came here before it got dark out, now I can't even see what tree I left my duffel bag in…'_

After an hour of searching, I finally spotted the tree and climbed to the top, taking off my school bag. Able to sit down, I opened my duffel bag and took out my pack of cigarettes I had been craving all day. Lighting it with a match, I breathed in all the warmth of the toxic smoke into my lungs before letting it drift out and away from my lips.

Continuing to take a drag from the cigarette every few minutes or so , I placed my head in my right hand as I began thinking to myself about my current situation. _'What should I do? I obviously can't go home back to my parents after everything that happened, Aki is out of town for who knows how long so I really have no place to go… Maybe I can try to go to a shelter like that kid Kyo had suggested but then they might ask questions… and then if they find out I'm a minor, they'll definitely put me into foster care…'_ A frown appeared at my face at the thought,_ 'Besides, I left so I wouldn't be a burden, going to somewhere like a homeless shelter or a home with foster parents will be exactly that for who ever has to deal with me… So, I guess I have no choice but to stay here, in this tree, at least until Aki comes back…'_

Unexpectedly, I heard footsteps from below me and pass by. Curiosity getting the best of me, I put out my cigarette and swiftly hopped down from the tree following the said person. After a few minutes, I was able to get closer and recognized the person to be a girl from my school since she was wearing the uniform. Watching the girl enter a clearing, I spotted a tent.

'What the hell? Is that girl… living in that tent?' Wanting to know who it was, I came even closer and got a good look at her face.

Unable to contain my surprise and confusion, I shouted loudly, "HONDA TOHRU?!"

Quickly turning around, her eyes widened at my form and she stammered in fright, "K-Kobayashi-san… Why are you h-here?"

Pointing up at a tree I stated blandly, "I've been living up in a tree for the past day or so."

"_What_?! Why have you been l-"

I came closer and interjected her questions, "And why are you here?"

She looked up at me and explained, "Well you see… I used to live with my mom before she passed away in May but after that I was then sent to live with my grandfather. Since renovations were being done, he asked me to stay with my friends for a while… but because I didn't want to bother them I've decided to live in this tent until the renovations on Grandfather's house are done…"

Feeling sympathy for the kind girl I inquired slowly, "And how long have you been living here…?"

"About a week or so, I think." She answered me softly.

Slightly worried for her safety seeing as how easily a creep could just wander into the woods and into her tent I tentatively questioned, "Um… not to be intrusive or anything but would you mind if I stayed with you in your tent? I have all of my own stuff, so I promise you don't need to be worried that I'll take anything of yours even if that seems hard to believe…" I included that last part, knowing that there were a few rumors about me at our school.

"Huh? Of course it's okay! It'll be so much more fun with another person… kind of like camping!" She exclaimed happily.

My lips twitched into a slight smile, "Yeah… anyways, I'll be right back because I need to get my stuff."

"Okay, I'll wait for you then." She called, walking toward her tent.

I sighed thinking back on her antics, _'God, that girl is so trusting… I mean, it's okay since it's me… but what if it was someone else?'_

* * *

Someone was shaking me lightly, unaware of who it could be I flopped on to the other side but as soon as I heard the voice of Tohru whisper, "Kobayashi-san! Wake up, we need to leave for school soon!"

Sitting up, I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, "Hmm…okay thanks, Tohru."

After I had finished pulling on my uniform and brushing out my hair, I remembered what she said just a few minutes ago and reminded her, "Hey, didn't I tell you last night to not call me by my last name anymore? Just Airi or even Ai is okay."

Tohru's eyes widened at her forgetfulness, "Oh, I'm sorry! I completely forgot about that!"

I raised an eyebrow at her, "Tohru, it's okay. You don't have to get so worked up about it."

She beamed and nodded, "Thank you, Airi-san!"

_'Why is this girl thanking me?'_ I wondered with a confused expression before moving to exit the tent, "Hey Tohru, I'll be outside the tent okay?"

The said girl responded, "Ah, okay. I'll be out there shortly so we can walk to school together."

After waiting for a few minutes and hearing her say her goodbyes to her mother, she joined me outside, "Wow! The sky is so beautiful, I can already tell it'll be hot today!"

I agreed a bit boredly, "Yeah, but hopefully not as hot as yesterday…"

We were walking when all of the sudden Tohru stopped in her tracks and pointed, "Look at that house over there… It seems so peaceful…"

I viewed the scenery to the left of us and spotted a cute looking traditional Japanese two story house containing a deck, balcony, and a small koi pond in front of it. I breathed out, "It must be so nice to live somewhere like this."

Without another word, Tohru started to take strides to get a closer look at the house as if she was in a trance. I called from behind her, "Tohru! Wait a second!" and hurried to catch up to her.

By the time I had caught up to her, we were already walking along the porch deck. She smiled fondly at a stand of Zodiac animal ornaments, "How cute! It's the twelve animals from the Chinese Zodiac!"

Wanting to get away from the house, knowing that this was trespassing I began pulling on her arm while I whispered desperately, "Yes, very cute! Now we need to get out of here, Tohru, because right now, we are trespassi-"

"**_My word_**…" A young man's voice called from beside us, making us jump up in alarm, "Is it just me or are there two strange girls standing outside of my house?"

'Shit…' I swore internally, unknowing of just how much this moment would ultimately alter my future.

* * *

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FRUITS BASKET, JUST MY OWN CHARACTERS!**

**So I hope you all enjoyed it, the first actual chapter of my story! I really appreciate any suggestions or criticism's so just leave that in the comments for me to read. THANK YOU FOR READING I LOVE YOU!**


	3. Chapter 2: A New Home with a Surprise?

**Chapter 2 - A New Home with a Surprise?:**

* * *

Recap: _"**My word**…" A young man's voice called from beside us, making us jump up in alarm, "Is it just me or are there two strange girls standing outside of my house?"_

Almost immediately, Tohru began to panic, her eyes bugging out of her head while she apologized, "Oh! I-I am so sorry! We didn't mean to intrude we just were looking!"

"Ah, well it's okay if you just want to look. I merely put them out here to dry in the sunshine."

Tohru then began to outwardly calm down, relaxing her tense muscles as we continued to stare at the man in front of us. He was definitely older than us, most likely to be in his late twenties, wore a worn out grey yukata, and had shaggy dark brown hair that looked as if it were a lighter shade of black along with high cheekbones, a slender nose, and dark mahogany eyes that were all placed upon a face of a mix between a heart and an oval shape. He was average in weight and I assumed that if he were to stand up, he would surely be above average height. The man was undeniably good-looking… but looks don't mean a thing when it comes to me.

He continued speaking, "But I would've thought that young people like you in these days would find them boring."

Shaking her head, she responded, "No, we like them. I don't think they're boring at all."

I eyed him warily while he smiled moving over to look at the ornaments, "Is that so? I like them too."

All of the sudden a frown fell upon Tohru's lips and she mumbled sadly, "Oh but…there's no cat…"

"_Cat…_? Have you never heard the story about the cat in the legend of the Chinese zodiac?" He questioned in surprise.

She grinned fondly as memories flitted through her mind, "Yes. My mother used to tell me the story when I was younger," she paused to explain, "After hearing the story for the first time, I cried for the Cat and decided that instead of my sign being the Dog, I would want it to be the Cat!"

Leaning forward, with his chin atop his hand the man seemed amused, "Oh? I wonder what that guy would do if he found out he had a fan…"

"What?" Tohru and I spoke in unison, my tone coming out harsher.

Changing the subject he inquired, "So your true sign is the Dog, huh? What about you?"

I figured that there was no harm in answering since we _did_ trespass on his property and muttered dully, "The Rat…"

He looked me up and down, approval in his eyes, "Hmm interesting…" Then he turned to Tohru leaning closer, "Well, it's no wonder I felt something from you… I mean, aside from your pretty face because I too-"

By the time he had started leaning forward, I had pushed Tohru back and placed a hand on her arm protectively before a dark green backpack landed on the guy's head, cutting him off in his act of what might've been sexual harassment.

The kid about our age who had dropped the bag on his head scolded the older man, "Quit doing that. You look like a pedophile, moving closer and closer…"

The man rubbed his head groaning, "It hurts! What did you put in that book bag anyway? A porcelain bowl or a dictionary?"

Releasing Tohru's arm and stepping away from her, I watched the silver haired boy deadpan in response, "Mmm, two dictionaries."

He lifted his head to show us his amethyst purple eyes and polite, but obviously fake smile. I frowned when I realized who it was as he apologized in his expectantly soft voice, "Please excuse my cousin… he's a bit of a flirt, but he's harmless. In general, it's better to just ignore him."

Tohru gasped as if in shock that some perfect being showed up before her and exclaimed, "Sohma Yuki!"

I glared at him knowing that Tohru, just like any other girl from our school, was probably shocked at how he was standing right before us. I rolled my eyes, annoyed. _'It's not like he's a celebrity or something. You don't have to be so amazed…'_

Yuki continued speaking and paid no heed to the fact she had just yelled his name out loud, "If I may, can I ask what the two of you are doing out here, Honda-san and ah, I'm sorry I believe I don't know your name Miss…?"

Yuki's swirling lavender shaded orbs pierced into mine before I folded my arms in front of my chest and expressed sarcastically, "Well, it's not like I expect you to remember my name anyway… but I guess it's an accomplishment that I _finally_ have gotten to meet the infamous Sohma Yuki_ in the flesh_…" I paused before mocking, "You're the talk of the school, aren't you? 'The Prince of Kaibara High School'**_ everyone_** is in love with?"

Stepping closer, I inspected him continuing on before looking straight into his eyes patronizingly, "… although, I don't see why."

Everyone shocked into silence by my words, I began to turn to head to school and waved at the group over my shoulder, "I'll be taking my leave then since I don't want to be late of school. Have fun now."

And with that, I trudged on to school by myself, just how I liked it._ 'That stupid Prince will at least walk Tohru to school, and I am definitely not going to sit through that…I know it was wrong to act how I did, but I couldn't help it! He's just so annoying to me! Everyone is completely fooled by him at school and yet they still completely adore him… always praising him, calling him a gentlemen, giving him a fan club, and treating him as though he were real royalty! I bet he gets everything handed to him… his life is perfect! I can also tell that underneath those faked 'gentle' smiles he's most likely cruel and probably has gotten an inflated ego, thinking that he is higher than everyone else…'_

I scowled at the thought, clenching my fists_, 'Never mind what I said earlier, I don't think it was wrong at all! I am happy that I had taken the opportunity to knock out at least a little bit of that superiority complex of his…'_

* * *

**Third Person POV -**

The three of them left behind sat stunned until the dark haired man directed their attention towards him as he beamed cheerfully looking entertained, "Huh… she certainly is a feisty one, isn't she? Just who is she?"

Tohru snapped out of her daze and shifted her head to stare at the retreating form of the girl whom had left, her eyes softening she confessed, "Her name is Kobayashi Airi and to be quite honest… I'm not really sure. Although, I _do_ know she is a good person but_…_ I think she has a lot of things on her mind so that's probably why she acted like that…" Her eyes widened and she bowed repeatedly, "Oh my goodness I can't believe I forgot to say sorry to the both of you for that! I am so sorry!"

The girl stood up thinking to herself sadly, _'It was probably something that I did that made her do something like that in the first place… I wonder what it was… Maybe I was a nuisance to her?…'_

The man laughed and waved his hand dismissively, "Oh, it's alright. Anyways, do you think you could restart? I'm Sohma Shigure, Yuki's older and less violent cousin."

Tohru shook her head before bowing formally and greeted happily, "Hello! It's nice to meet you, I'm Honda Tohru."

Yuki stepped off the porch directing his attention to Tohru, calling out lightly, "I think if we wait any longer, we'll be late to school, Honda-san. So since you're already here, why don't we walk there together?"

She froze before blinking in disbelief, "Oh, um… okay…"

Then, the two went on their way, walking in almost complete silence with only a few sentences exchanged with one another from time to time.

* * *

**Airi's POV -**

After being out for several hours after school, I decided to start walking back to the tent after attempting to call Aki again and leaving a few voicemails. Because it was around 9 o'clock at night, the sky was completely black and all the sudden a large gust of wind flew in front of me, blowing all my long wet hair into my face. Brushing it away as I entered the forest, I shivered and pulled my hood on my thin jacket up over my head, confused on how it could be so hot during the day yet so cold in the evening. Taking a cigarette out from my denim jean pocket, I placed it between my lips, igniting it, watching the lighter's flame while I inhaled the pungent smoke deep in to my lungs. I stared at the flame in a daze just observing the curls of yellow, orangey red as they flit around. Snapping out of it, I shut the lighter off not wanting to have to buy another one and released the toxic smoke from my plump lips, letting out a cough due to breathing in too deeply.

Resuming my walk, I angrily thought, '_Damn it… Why am I such an idiot?! I should've used the school showers earlier… Now it's finally windy and cold outside and here I am, wet hair and all. I swear if I get sick I'm going to punch myself in the face for my own stupidity…'_

Feeling a little bit warmer and less stressed as I took a puff every few minutes or so, I came to the clearing where the tent was. Letting out a tired sigh, I stomped out the cigarette on the ground before zipping open the tent, "Tohru, I'm back. Sorry I'm late it's just that I-"

Opening my eyes, I had caught myself eyes realizing that Tohru wasn't back yet and it was only me inside the tent. I immediately began to feel a pang of worry, _'I wonder where she is… It's pretty late out. Maybe I should go outside and wait for her…'_

With that last thought I had moved and sat outside the tent for about fifteen minutes before freaking out internally,_ 'WHERE THE HELL IS SHE?! It's going to be 10 soon! She shouldn't be hanging out this late by herself! Or what if… what if something happened to her?…She could be hurt out in the woods by herself and some pervert could just pick her up and take her away… Or what if she's already been kidnapped?!'_

Unsure of why I felt the need to be so protective and worried over a girl I had just met yesterday when I usually worried about no one but myself, I nonetheless stood abruptly, stomping off, about to exit the clearing in a hurry when I had bumped into someone. Recognizing the person to be the one and only Tohru, I placed my hands on her shoulders, exclaiming, "Where have you been?!"

Her face was a bit flushed but I didn't take much note of it as she trailed off, "I…"

"Yes Tohru?" I urged, attentively.

She swallowed uncomfortably, "Um… I was at my… my part time job…"

My brows furrowed together, "What? You have a part time job?"

When she nodded in response I scolded myself once again for my idiocy._ 'Stupid, of course she has a job. She has to pay for everything by herself… how else do you think she got this tent?'_

Shaking my head, I gave her a half smile, "Well next time you go to work I'll come to walk you back, okay? There's lots of weirdos out at night but they wouldn't try anything if it was the two of us!"

Tohru weakly smiled at me and nodded in return suggesting, "Do you mind if we go back in the tent? I still need to do my homework…"

"Okay. You seem a little bit under the weather though, maybe you should get some rest and take a break from school…" I prompted her as we entered the tent.

She shook her head at me and refused profusely, "No, it's okay! I'm just tired… Besides, Mom wished that I would enter and finish high school so I really don't want to miss any school."

I sighed in defeat, "Well when you put it that way, I guess there's no use in trying to stop you. Just don't push yourself too hard, okay?"

She grinned tiredly, "Okay. I think I'm going to go wash my face to wake myself up a-"

Noticing that she froze, halfway outside of the tent, I came crawling towards the exit myself, "Hey Tohru, what's wr-" Looking outside, I also stopped in the middle of my sentence knowing what was wrong. The good thing was that it wasn't some creep or something, but the bad thing was that it was _worse_. There, outside the tent stood Yuki Sohma and the dark haired man standing by his side, nearly rolling on the floor laughing.

The silver haired Prince turned to the man disapprovingly, "Shigure, that's enough."

* * *

We were now all currently inside the house, sitting at their table. Me, with my back slightly hunched over, sat a little bit behind Tohru as I'm sure they'd be directing all their questions towards her. In the corner of the room, was the man whom I had found to be named Shigure, still laughing, trying to cease his giggles but obviously unable to while we all sat in silence.

Getting more and more pissed by the second, I finally slammed my hands on the table, narrowing my eyes at Shigure threatening in a low voice, "Shut up before I make you myself. It's been enough already, damn it."

And with that, his laughter subsided and I could almost imagine him with a tail between his legs as if he were a dog, looking at me a bit frightened.

"So… when did you start living in that tent?" Yuki interrogated us but looked to Tohru for an answer.

"I'm not sure… about a week ago…" She mumbled, clearly embarrassed at our situation.

Yuki nodded, "Oh well I guess that explains it… I thought it was strange that you had passed by our house on the way to school since all the land surrounding us is owned by the Sohma family."

Realization hit me,_ 'Huh, I had completely forgot. I guess when I thought that Sohma Kyo person's name was familiar, it was Sohma Yuki that had been in the back of my mind… So I guess that means that those two are related then…?….'_

"Um… I'm sorry that we've been staying on your land but… please… can you let us stay there a little longer?" Tohru pleaded before their very eyes.

She continued, "It'll only before a few weeks and then will be up and out of your way! We don't have much but… surely we can gather enough to pay you for letting us stay…"

Shigure intervened this time, "Those woods aren't too safe. There are wild animals, landslides, the occasional weirdo prowling around…" At this I scoffed quietly, _'You mean a weirdo like yourself, you pedophile?'_

"I just don't think two young girls like yourselves living out alone in that tent." He finished off.

Tohru stood up instantaneously on her wobbly legs, so fast that it made me dizzy as she determinedly shoved a fist up in the air, "It's no problem! After staying here for a week, I'm used to all the bugs and nature! I'm sure we'll be fine even if we stay a bit longer!"

Knowing that she was pushing herself, I warned, "Tohru I think you-" and then I was interrupted as she swayed before dropping onto her knees, with me catching her upper body from hitting the ground.

Feeling her forehead, I frowned before speaking solemnly, "She has a fever."

"Ice! I'll get ice!" Shigure shouted, jumping up and opening one of the sliding doors to what I assumed used to be the kitchen before it became a display for what looked to be a dumpster.

Tohru joked, with my arm still supporting her, "And you said the woods were unsafe…"

"Well technically speaking…" He paused in his explanation before becoming quiet and speaking again about a different matter seriously, "Oh no, it looks as though there's going to be another landslide…"

Perplexed, I scrunched my nose, "And how do you know that?"

Shigure smiled mysteriously, "It's something I'd like to call, instinct."

Yuki spoke blatantly, wanting to get to the point, "Stop joking around. Where was it?"

A bit worried, I voiced my thoughts, "It couldn't have been close to the tent, right?"

He forced a laugh, "No way! It can't be**_ that_** coincidental!"

"Hmm… I think we should go to make sure that it wasn't." I uneasily spoke, getting up while guiding Tohru who I knew by her facial expression was freaking out about where the landslide was.

* * *

When we entered the clearing we were greeted with a large mountain of dirt and mud. Tohru then escaped my grasp, yelling, "Mom's picture is in there! I need to get her out!"

I shouted in surprise, "Tohru!"

Running off, she began digging with her bare hands through the dirt crying out, "Mom! Don't worry, Mom! Mom!"

I was about to stop her when The Prince had beat me to it, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Honda-san, calm down. You still have a fever."

I glared at him while Tohru's hands shook and she stuttered out, "B-but Mom… She… She'll be in pain if I don't get her out quickly!"

Shigure leaned over, grasping Tohru's hand in his own, smiling comfortingly, "Let's come back in the morning, okay? If another landslide happens again, you might get hurt… And then your Mom will be in even more pain."

Everyone's eyes flitted to me as I brought up pissed, "Tomorrow?! There's no tomorrow anymore! We don't even have a place to stay since ours has just been buried!"

Yuki answered, "Just stay with us for tonight."

My mouth dropped before Shigure chimed in, "Yes! You'll stay in our house, with us!"

A bit creeped out but not really seeing another option, I sighed preparing myself to face the inevitable knowing that God has been painfully harsh with me this week. _'I can't believe I actually have to stay the night in that damn Prince's house…'_

* * *

Changing into one of the kimonos they had on hand, I looked at the dark red background of it and the white and pink flowered pattern, deciding it was a very beautiful thing to wear, though a little too traditional Japanese for my taste. I observed my reflection in the mirror taking in my pale white skin and contrasting straight but a bit currently messy jet black hair. I held an angular yet a bit ovalish shaped of a face with some visible cheekbones, a pointed chin, and large slightly slanted light grey orbs that could be mistaken as blue when in the right light, but mostly they were undoubtedly plain grey and contained light purple bags under them, mostly due to my inability to sleep nowadays. Additionally, I had full lips, long dark eyelashes, high arching brows that curved upwards, a wide forehead, and a skinny nose that was slightly upturned with a stud piercing in it. My ears also had about three piercings on each of them.

My body was very slim seeing as I used to model when I was in middle school, only holding an average B cup. Though, I was athletic and had some visible muscle, but not very much at that. Running a hand through my bangs, a habit I had developed, proved that my bangs that were usually parted to the right side once again needed to be trimmed. I made note to do that later.

Stepping out of the bathroom, I laid on the futon next to Tohru as she was in the middle of explaining, "I didn't tell her… 'Be safe' on the morning of the car accident… Because I had a test… I stayed up all night studying and overslept. I couldn't get up… Every morning I said it to her but only that one day… I… I didn't want to finish high school, I wanted to work. But mom said that since she never finished high school, she wanted me to…"

She continued, getting upset at herself while my eyes softened, "Yet, I didn't tell her to be safe… even when she left, I didn't get to see her leave… I'm so stupid! Even if I failed that test or my house was blown away, I really don't care. The most important thing for me is always Mom!"

Tohru began to close her eyes, starting to mumble her words more and more, "So I at least need to… keep my Mom's wish… to finish high school… I can't lose to something… like this little… fever…"

And with that, she was finally asleep. I moved my hand to hold hers as I stared at her in amazement. '_She's always so cheerful… it's so hard to imagine that her most important person was taken for her too… especially when she acts like that all the time… She's so… strong…'_

I closed my eyes, taking in the peaceful moment,_'Compared to her, I'm so undeniably weak… after **he** died, I lost my entire will to live… just what keeps her going? …What can possibly make someone smile so happily when the thing you've loved most has disappeared from this world?'_

Shigure then cleared his throat, making me snap my head over to look at him since I had noticeably forgotten he was there. He smiled at me before asking, "And what about you? I haven't heard you speak up this whole time unless you felt you had to… What's your story?"

I smirked mysteriously and replied, "That's something I don't give out quite easily. You'll just have to wait and see, I guess."

He pouted like a child, "Oh, come on! Stop trying to play it so Miss Cool and Mysterious! I wanna' know!"

I scoffed, laying my head back down on the futon, my hand still wrapped around Tohru's, and closed my eyes, "I told you… you're going to have to wait… I'm too tired… to explain… my whole… stupid… life…" By the end of my sentence, sweet blissful darkness overtook me and I hoped that nothing would come to disturb it.

* * *

_"Onee-chan! Onee-chan, where are you?" A child's voice called._

_Unlike our usual games together I was hiding from him, shaking in fear for not wanting to be discovered. I was inside the closet of one of our old houses and there was a crack so I could peer outside of the darkness. I heard little footsteps come closer before stopping for a second to slowly open the door with a loud impending creak. Tears falling from my eyes, I shook even harder as the child took small curious strides into the room. _

_He began looking around on the other side of the room and I prayed silently, 'Please, please, please… go away… Please…'_

_Quickly, as if sensing my presence he walked towards me and I clenched my eyes shut, curling into the back of the dresser as much as possible. The child questioned in an innocent, shaky voice, "Onee-chan… why did you leave me alone? Why did you do this to me?"_

_The doors opened and I sat shaking and sobbing before the little boy while he came closer, his breath on my ear as he whispered sinisterly, "It's all you're fault. You shouldn't even be alive. You don't deserve it."_

_I buried my hands in my hair, trying to block him out while the words continued to echo in my ears, "I-I didn't mean to… I'm so sorry…I'm sorry…I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I'm so-"_

"-ri! Airi-chan wake up!" A voice called taking me away from the horrid nightmare.

* * *

I awoke with a start and snapped my eyes open to see Tohru hovering above me, worry evident in her eyes with her hands on my shoulders. Breathing heavily, I quickly brought my sleeve up to my eyes, wiping at any trace of tears and sat up, relieved I had gotten out of there before it got any worse.

I gratefully looked towards Tohru, "Thank you for waking me up… I'm sorry if that might've scared you…"

She moved her hands out in front of her face, brushing off my thanks, "Oh, it was no problem! I was already awake when I heard you mumbling and… crying. So I figured you'd want to be woken up… I wasn't scared at all, but… Are you alright now?"

I nodded, lying smoothly, "Yeah… it was just a bad dream. I get them once in awhile."

'_Once in awhile?'_ I laughed bitterly at myself internally, _'You have dreams like that almost every night… it's a surprise she didn't find out about them the first night you were with her…'_

"I see…" She trailed off before looking over to her side and noticing our things, picking up her Mom's picture, "Ah! Look, it's Mom and all our stuff!"

Yuki entered through the doorway with my duffel bag before placing it softly on the ground, "I hope I'm not interrupting anything but I believe this is the last of it."

"Sohma-kun! Good morning!" She exclaimed before asking, "Did you dig through all of that dirt to get all of this?"

He smiled in response and Tohru fumbled with her words, "H-how is that even possible?!"

He tilted his head and grinned mysteriously, "It's a secret."

Watching the scene before me as Tohru's face gained a blush that flew up to her ears, I silently barfed at how annoying the exchange between the two of them was.

"Well thank you so much for doing something like this for us. We really appreciate it!"

He began to pick up our things again, responding, "Mmm… I'll be taking your things upstairs for you then while I'm at it."

I jumped up to my feet and hissed out, "What are you talking about?"

He quickly turned to us but looked at Tohru, explaining, "You see, Shigure and I talked this out beforehand and thought that seeing as this house is pretty dirty and only has guys living here, that maybe the two of you would like to stay here in an empty room on the second floor until you have a place to stay."

My eyes widened at the offer before Tohru objected on the spot, "No! Absolutely not!"

I agreed with her on that one, _'Like hell am I going to stay with the stupid sparkly Prince and his pedophile cousin… I'd rather die.'_

Yuki's eyes widened and he acted a bit offended, "We aren't _that_ strange. If it's about privacy, there's a lock on the door…"

"Oh I-I didn't mean that, it's just-"

Shigure appeared out of thin air, "Tohru-chan, do you like house chores? Cooking, cleaning… things of that sort for example?"

"Um, yes…"

"Good! Welcome to the Sohma family then, you two!" Shigure chided before turning to Yuki about preparing the room.

_'Two? I haven't been able to get a word in this whole time, damn it!' _I screeched internally.

Tohru still panicking stumbled over her words, "But this… you've already looked after us enough! I can't bother you with housing!"

Yuki calmed her with his soft voice, "Honda-san, we were the ones who came up with this arrangement. Besides… you don't have anywhere else to go do you?"

And with that realization, we both gave in, slumping in defeat. _'I'll just have to deal with this now that it's unavoidable… It's only until Aki comes home anyways… I can always avoid both the Prince and his cousin even if we stay in the same house.'_

* * *

Entering our new room, Yuki moved over to the window apologizing, "I'm sorry about the smell… We've had this room closed up for a long time. It'd probably best to open some windows…"

As he began opening the window there was a cracking sound coming from the roof above us. I squinted at it, _'That's weird… I wonder why it's making that sound… Is it going to collapse?'_

And with that last thought in mind, the roof caved in and debris flew everywhere as a familiar head of orange fell from the air, landing on top of the mountain of broken ceiling and dust he had just created.

Standing up, he cracked his neck with his back to us, "Yo!" Recognizing it to be Kyo's voice, my face scrunched up in confusion, "Time to pay the piper, Ratboy. I'm here to collect."

_'Why is he here…? And just what is he doing to our room?!' _

Yuki crossed his arms over his chest with a smirk, "Funny, I thought he would've sent someone bigger."

Kyo growled out, "Yeah, you better get your tough talk out of the way, cause' pretty soon I'm gonna' wipe that stupid little smirk right off your face!"

Kyo then started to run at him, aiming a punch at his face only for Tohru to run after him, and trip, grabbing him in a tight hug before falling on to the ground in a heap.

"POOF!"

Looking down at Tohru, I wondered where Kyo had went since he wasn't anywhere to be seen while I coughed on the smoke just as Shigure came through the door.

Furiously blushing, Tohru sat up quickly apologizing, lifting up an object from Kyo's clothes that were on the floor, "OH MY GOODNESS! I AM SO SORRY!"

Staring at the cat in front of her face, we both sat in shock about how this kid about our age had just magically changed into an animal right before our own very eyes. And then Tohru flipped out even more extremely, "AH! I'M SO SORRY! I TURNED HIM INTO A CAT!" She stood up, continuing, "I don't know how this happened but we need to get him help! We have to get him to the hospital, the doctors will find a cure!"

I reached my hand out grabbing her shoulder, trying to remain rational in this completely unbelievable situation, "Tohru, I think you need to calm down. The doctors obviously won't be able to believe he was a human before it happened…"

She gasped, "You're right! A vet then?! Oh but what do we-"

A slab of wood then fell from the ceiling landing with a heavy thunk on the girl's head making her fall forward on to Shigure and Yuki, who then also changed into a dog and a mouse encased in quickly disappearing smoke.

My eyes widened even more than they possibly could have at this point as the scene played in front of me,_ 'Just what is happening…? Am I finally going insane?!'_

* * *

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FURUBA OR ANY OF IT'S CHARACTERS!**

**I hoped you enjoyed the second chapter of this story! It's been very fun(also time consuming) to write for all of you! Please review and thank you all so much for reading!**


	4. Chapter 3: The Secret Is Out

**Chapter 3 - The Secret Is Out:**

* * *

In the midst of all the chaos, the doorbell rang. Tohru then chose to run with the animal-people-things in her arms, down the stairs, all while panicking, "Call a doctor! Or a vet!"

I watched her fleeing form from the doorway for a few seconds, still stunned I let out a dazed, "_Huh_?"

I soon came back and realized that this was all actually happening. Recognizing that Tohru going down the stairs meant she was going to try and explain the situation to who ever was at the door, I sprinted right after her, "Hey wait a second, Tohru! Don't-"

"Mr. Postman, _it's terrible_! They're all animals!" She screamed at the man, her face bright red.

_'Too late.'_ I thought to myself, smacking my forehead with a frustrated sigh.

The man raised the tip of his hat to get a better look and smiled a bit confused, "Um, well yes… they certainly are. Here's your mail."

He handed the mail, while Tohru fell to her knees and spoke exasperatedly, "No… that wasn't what I meant…"

Shigure, in dog form, quickly took the mail in his mouth. The post man laughed before patting his head, "I wish my dog was this smart. Have a good day!"

I then took a few strides to Tohru who sat on the ground mumbling incoherently as the man shut the door behind him, leaving.

The cat then jumped out of Tohru's arms, running towards the other animal-people hissing out, "**_DAMN IT_**! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO COME UP WITH AN EXCUSE IF BOTH OF YOU TRANSFORMED TOO?!"

I friviously rubbed at my eyes and blinked a few times before I chuckled quietly with a small grin, "Ha, that's funny. It sounded like that cat had just talked…"

"Don't even try to blame us for this you stupid cat!" The rat sitting on top of the dog's head argued, ignoring what I had said.

My face fell immediately and the background behind me turned dark and swirled as I realized, _'I was wrong…The animals really **are** talking…'_

"Go ahead, say that again!"

My thoughts drifted and I began to think of the whole thing as a hallucination, _'I wonder if they drugged me with something while I was here…'_

"Stu-pid. Cat." The Prince-rat-thing annunciated slowly.

I squinted my eyes at the scene in front of me,_ '…But what would it have been? I haven't used anything of theirs yet…'_

"Why you little-"

_'Water? Maybe it was the water…?'_

"Cut it out, both of you!" Shigure hollered, interrupting their spat and made the rat fall slightly off his head.

My eyes widened at the authoritative tone of voice that interrupted my thoughts.

The dog looked at both of our expressions before sighing, "Anyway, it's too late for any excuses. We might as well tell them the truth. Girls, I'm a dog. Yuki here, he's a rat."

_'Well no shit, Sherlock… That's pretty obvious by now…'_ I thought sarcastically rolling my eyes, but kept the words from escaping my lips.

He pointed his head over at the direction of the cat in the corner, "And that, is Kyo. Don't let his temper bother you, he's got a bit of a chip on his shoulder."

I began slowly, my eyes scrutinizing the situation, "Wait, so are you saying that _this_… is real?"

He nodded solemnly, "One hundred percent."

_'What the fuck…How?'_

"And it's normal?" Tohru asked timidly.

"Ah, well I guess you could say that… You see, our family has lived with this curse for generations," The dog-person-thing began explaining, "Twelve of us transform into the animals of the Chinese Zodiac."

The feline glared daggers at him and Shigure corrected, "I mean, the twelve animals plus the cat." The cat turning away again, Shigure continued, "The Sohma's call it the Zodiac curse where if we're hugged by a member of the opposite sex or under a lot of stress, we transform. It only takes a little while to change back but when we do-"

"POOF!"

"We're naked." He finished lamely.

Quickly turning around and falling to the floor while Tohru sprinted to the wall, I covered my eyes with my hands shouting in anger for my delicate virgin orbs of sight, "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US THAT EARLIER, GOD DAMNIT!"

* * *

After all the cursed boys got dressed, we had moved to the living room and settled down around the table to talk while Kyo sat by himself on the deck outside with a scowl. As for me, I sat a little ways behind Tohru with my legs crossed casually because I wasn't used to kneeling on the floor like the rest of them.

_'Wow… this is a lot to handle… I really need a cigarette…'_

"Well, sorry about all of that. How are you two doing?" Shigure, now a human, questioned us both.

Tohru bowed her head, softly speaking, "It's not your fault that you're family is cursed…"

The young black haired man looked at me expectantly and I answered seriously, "Well, it seems like this 'curse' thing really sucks. I mean, the only question on my mind, is how do you guys um… reproduce?"

Awkward silence came up while everyone sat with stunned faces turned towards me. I shook my head and closed my eyes with a sigh, "Never mind. I guess the timing to ask that was way off… In all honesty, it would be a lie if I said I wasn't a little weirded out… but… I'll probably get used to it…"

Shigure nodded ignoring the first portion of what I said and I stood abruptly before anyone else could say anything, "Would you mind if I went to use your bathroom for a little bit?"

"Go ahead." He smiled.

"Thanks." I muttered quietly as I briskly walked outside, past Kyo.

After entering the bathroom, I leaned against the white, porcelain sink while pulling out a cigarette and my trusty lighter. Lighting the damn thing, I pursed my lips together taking a puff and letting the grey smoke exit my mouth.

Moving to turn the fan on to rid of the smoke and scent of tobacco, I heard a loud crack, probably coming from the living room. I went back to my spot by the sink taking more and more deep breaths of the burning stick.

_'I probably should go see what's happening soon…'_ I thought to myself.

I smoked in the Sohma boys bathroom for about another ten minutes before dropping my cig in the toilet and flushing it down the drain.

Finally outside, I noticed Kyo who was laying in the backyard, crumpled on the floor, slowly attempting to stand up.

Deciding that today wasn't my day to be curious, I crossed the porch to enter the living room, completely ignoring Kyo's existence and the large, gaping hole in the shoji door to my left.

All of a sudden, Tohru popped to her feet, remembering out loud, while I took a bit of notice to the broken table, "Oh no! School!" Rushing upstairs, she grabbed all her school items and even changed into her dirt covered uniform before bolting back down, "I'm late, I'm late! Sorry for everything but I have to go right now!"

Shigure interrupted her mini freakout, "School? I'm not so sure that you want to go in that uniform…"

"Eh? It's okay, this one isn't too bad! I'll just tell everyone I tripped and fell on the way there!" She cheered as I stood far from everyone, my arms crossed over my chest.

My blunt words disheartened the girl, "Tohru, no one is going to believe that."

Tohru's enthusiasm fell but she was still persistent as she bowed before Shigure, "Ah… that might be true… and I'm sorry about the situation…but I have to go to school, it's the one thing I promised my Mom."

"Yes, yes. I understand." He quipped before rubbing his chin as if he'd just remembered something, "Now that I think about it, I'll have to report this to Akito…"

"And just who is that?" I questioned, my voice coming out rude, taking note to the way The Prince froze up when just his name was mentioned.

Shigure elaborated, "Ah, sorry… he's the head of the Sohma family so it's important for him to know when two people have just found out our family's biggest secret."

Tohru blinked, "So I guess this Akito-san person it very important, huh? I understand." She then began exiting the front door, "I'll be going ahead to school then. Thank you for your hospitality!"

"Bye-bye, be safe!" Shigure sang as the door closed.

The room became silent and I, sensing that the two of them wanted to talk to each other alone, started up the stairs calling, "I'll be upstairs and off to school. Sorry to be in your hair this whole time…"

Entering my new room, I heard Shigure start to say something back to me, before I uncaringly slammed the door, cutting him off mid sentence.

I ran both my hands through my hair, sighing softly,_ 'Geez… my life really has turned upside down… First, I'm kicked out of my house, then I find Tohru in a tent, **and then** I find myself staying at The Prince's house… And lastly, I discovered his Royal Highness and the rest of his weird family change into animals…'_

I picked up my uniform and changed, thinking to myself, _'I'm surprised my brain hasn't exploded already…'_

I walked over to the mirror and fixed the uniform, wanting to rip the stupid sailor suit to shreds. Staring at myself in the mirror, I walked over to my bag that was left in the corner away from all the debris before returning to the mirror deciding to apply some dark eye makeup to distract from the huge bags under my eyes. After I finished putting on the heavy black eyeliner and matching black eyeshadow, I added some mascara and my favorite shade of red lipstick to my lips. I pulled out my brush, getting rid of all the tangles in my hair and leaving my long legs exposed, I pulled on short socks and a pair of thick, chunky combat boots as opposed to the ugly brown loafers we were supposed to wear.

I gave a blank stare at myself, before picking my school bag and leaving the room. Taking a few steps down the stairs, I passed Kyo going up the stairs and smirked.

"What, are you going to fix the roof?" I asked looking at him.

He yelled in retort, running up the rest of the staircase, "SHUT UP AND LEAVE ME ALONE!"

I almost laughed from his reaction and teased loudly from where I stood on the stairs, making sure he heard me, "Aw, it's okay, wittle kitty. I know you haven't had your _cat_ nap just yet, so I'll let that one slide!"

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT, YOU STU-" and with that, I cut yet another person off by slamming the front door shut and leaving.

* * *

I entered the school building and walked down the white empty hallway, taking my time, a bit surprised with myself that I had actually come to school today. Looking around boredly, I was uncaring of the fact I was late for the second time this week, running my fingers through my long bangs. Suddenly, I heard a slam and The Prince's distinct, smooth voice from around the corner and for some weird reason, I hid, listening in on the conversation.

"It's alright, I believe you. It's just even if you… and Kobayashi-san… do keep the secret… we still may have to erase your memory." Yuki informed her.

My eyes widened in shock, _'My memories… erased…?'_

My guess was that Tohru was equally shocked as I was, maybe even more so while Yuki continued on, "When I say erase, it's actually more like a form of hypnosis. It won't harm you… In the past, just like today, people had found out about the curse when I was in the second grade… You see, I was playing in the yard and a little girl jokingly hugged me…" He trailed off then finished darkly, "…We ended up erasing the memory of everyone who was there."

Finally I heard Tohru slowly speak in a small voice, "…Sohma… kun?"

I heard Yuki take a few steps back, adding in an apologetic tone, "I don't want that to happen to you but no matter what is decided, I can't go against Akito's decision. So… I'm sorry for getting you involved…"

Hearing a pair of footsteps followed by another, I figured that Tohru was trying to stop him as she exclaimed, "Eh? Ah, please wait! I-"

"POOF!"

I rolled my eyes, sitting on the floor with my back to the wall,_ 'Only Tohru could manage to trip and fall during a situation like this…'_

A few seconds past by before she went into a panic, for probably the hundredth time since I've met her a few days ago, "I'M SOOOOOOO SORRY! I-I didn't do it on purpose! Ugh, I'm such an idiot! _I'm sorry_!"

Yuki, now in rat form, sighed, "It's alright, just as long as no one saw us…"

_'As long as you don't count me, no one did…'_

A more calmed down Tohru was now reminded of what she wanted to say, "Oh, um… I wanted to say thank you for worrying about me. I'm very happy… so don't worry, I'm fine. It's only right to report to the head of the family once your biggest secret is revealed, so please do whatever to make you feel comfortable!" She paused and chipped in, "Also… if my memory does get erased, please promise to continue being my friend afterwards!"

"POOF!"

Princey explained awkwardly, "Sorry, the time varies for when we turn back…"

Within a few minutes and a rustle of clothes he told her that it was okay to look now and Tohru directed, "Sohma-kun, your tie is loose."

"Huh? Oh, I'm not very good at tying it…" He sheepishly responded.

She giggled, "You actually have this side too… it's very surprising! Let me do it for you!"

Tohru walked over, most likely fixing his tie when Yuki pondered, "Honda-san, you… you don't mind? It doesn't bother you?"

Always oblivious Tohru affirmed, "Ah, not at all! I closed my eyes right in time!"

I face palmed, _'Tohru… that wasn't what he had meant…'_

Yuki was in silence again before asking, "Today… would you like to walk home together?"

With those words, I stood and began to head to my next class, guessing that the rest of their conversation would be boring. My view of The Prince of the school was almost deterred as I thought to myself, _'When I really think about it… even though I was so rude to him that time, he let me stay in his home and merely ignored me when he should've been angry…'_

I counter-argued myself_,_ snapping out of it_, '…But that could've been because he was too afraid to face me, just like everyone else at this stupid school… And as for how he had spoken with Tohru… it all could've been an act for all I know. He probably wanted her to sympathize with him over his 'horrible curse'. I mean honestly, **how bad could it be?** All they do is change into animals for christs sake…I'd take that any day over the kind of life I've had to live…'_

* * *

I entered the house silently with it being dark out, about 9 'o'clock in the evening, and padded my way towards the stairs before Shigure slid open a door from what he called his study. I withheld my scream, by covering my hands with my mouth before murderously glaring at the annoying mutt.

I clutched at my chest whispering harshly, "What the hell! Are you _trying_ to give me a heart attack?!"

The man pouted, speaking in his normal voice but at a lower tone, "Of course not! Everyone has retired to their rooms and I just wanted to see to it that you had arrived safely home in one piece!"

"This place _isn't_ my home…I'm only here temporarily." I bitterly brought fourth, in a painfully bad mood because I had just gotten ripped off when I had went to buy some alcohol.

"Ah, I guess you're right. But may I ask, where you've been this whole time?" Shigure inquired, searching me with his dark gaze.

I contained myself as I growled out, "No, because it's none of your fucking business what I do. Now, can I get to bed yet or do you have another damn question?"

He grinned at me, "_Well_, I was gonna tell you some important news but I guess you could go to bed, Ai-chan… you're obviously too ferocious to be reckoned with right now…"

I sighed deeply, rubbing my temples in a hope to act less on edge, "Sorry." I apologized blandly, but didn't really mean it as I continued, "What did you want to tell me?"

He patted my head before I swatted his hand away cooing, "Aw, that's a good girl! Now, I was going to say that I talked to the head of the family _and_…"

"**_And what_**?!" I snapped, deeply annoyed by him.

"_And_… he said you get to keep your memories as long as you keep the secret!" He finished off cheerfully.

I stood still for a second then nodded, "That's good, I guess… but truth be told, I don't think I was going to let him erase them anyways…"

"Huh? How would you manage that?" The dog of the zodiac looked at me amused.

Ignoring him, I started up the stairs, completely done with talking to him or anyone else as a matter of fact, "Goodnight, Shigure."

"Hey! Don't ignore me~!" Shigure whined as I continued up the stairs and entered the room I was staying in as if I couldn't hear him.

* * *

The next day, I sketched for a bit, then played on my Gameboy, and had later on left the house after finding Tohru in the now cleaned up kitchen and gave her a solemn 'Good afternoon'. While outside, I had tried calling Aki again at his apartment from the phone booth, just as I have tried every day since I've been kicked out.

Receiving no answer from him, I decided to call other people to have some fun but found that everyone I had called was too hungover from last night to hangout. With an irked groan, I ran to the convenience store to buy a nice cold Pepsi and decided to go back to Shigure's house for a bit.

When I entered the room, all eyes drifted to me and I saw that everyone, all except for Kyo, was at the living room table eating. The heavenly smell of the food made my mouth water as I stared at everyones plates, clearly mesmerized.

"_Everyone~_! Our little Ai-chan is finally home! Come, come! Sit down and eat some dinner, you obviously need it considering how thin you are!" Shigure chided goofily.

I narrowed my eyes at him in annoyance but remained silent as I made my way to sit beside Tohru, keeping my gaze down at the table in front of me.

Tohru smiled widely at me, "Welcome home, Airi-chan. Help yourself to the food!"

I turned my head towards her and gave a semi-smile, nodding, "Okay, thanks." Reaching over, I nearly drooled as I piled food onto my plate. Quickly digging in, I began to eat the cooked fish in front of me.

Shigure began to recall, "Oh, as for what I was saying before, Kyo had told me today after being missing for four months where he had been. He was training in the mountains."

"Let me guess, he's been meditating under waterfalls and fighting bears?" The Prince remarked sarcastically.

"Mmm… something like that…" The mutt answered.

I mused out loud, "So, what's this 'training' for?"

Shigure nonchalantly described, "Oh, that? It's because Kyo wants to beat Yuki in a fight… The two of them have been rivals ever since they were little."

"That moron…" Yuki sighed.

'_Well that's not surprising… they **are** the cat and the rat so it must be natural for them to hate each other…'_

I piped up, speaking my thoughts aloud, "Wow… then everyday living together must be like a new episode of Tom and Jerry…"

"Tom and who?" Tohru asked confused.

_'**Shit**, I didn't mean to say that for everyone to hear that…'_

I explained thoroughly, "Tom and Jerry. You know, that American cartoon where the cat and the rat always fight? It's hilarious…"

No one spoke for a few minutes before Shigure snapped his fingers in realization, "Ah, now that you brought it up, I do recall hearing of a show like that!"

I pointed at him, happy that someone had recognized it, "See? He knows what I'm talking about."

"Um… I don't think I've seen that show before…" Yuki inputed, trailing off at the end.

Tohru agreed with him, "I don't think I have either…"

"Really? That's a shame…" I came up with an idea, placing my fist in my hand, "I know! If I can find a video of it, I'll bring it here so that we can watch it."

Tohru grinned brightly at me, "That'd be really fun, Airi-chan!"

I then sat in my seat and became quiet again, realizing that I had talked way too much for my liking and plainly nodded at Tohru.

_'You can't let yourself get too close to them, Airi…'_ I reminded myself, taking a bite of my food while the rest of the group began talking about another matter.

* * *

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN FRUITS BASKET, JUST MY OWN FABULOUS CHARACTERS!**

**Hi everyone! This chapter has been really fun to write so I'll be sure to try and be quick with the next one! If you like my story, please leave a review for me! Also, I would like to thank the people who followed and favorited 'You're a Flame in My Heart', it really means a lot! Love ya' and see you next time!**


	5. Chapter 4: Hazy Nights

**Chapter 4 - Hazy Nights:**

* * *

The next day at school, I had wandered out of my classroom during lunch seeing as there was no reason for me to stay inside there. Munching on the rice ball Tohru had guilt-tripped me into having for lunch, I stood near the wide window, dully gazing outside at the view of the back of the school, not really paying attention to anything(as I always do at school…).

Out of nowhere, Kyo came running around a corner before plopping down on the stairs below from the window I was currently at, clearly out of breath. A confused expression overtook my face, _'That's weird… Isn't this his first day at our school? Why is he here and not in his class…?'_

And then Yuki whom had appeared when I wasn't looking, directed his attention by saying something which had made the cat in turn become upset. I watched the two of their facial expressions, unable to hear what they were saying as they argued with one another - Yuki's being cold and calculating while Kyo's was angry and fierce.

Kyo abruptly stood up, his face contorting into a large scowl and his eyes turning to slits as he screamed at Yuki about something while Tohru came into sight, walking past a few bushes.

Her eyes widened in shock when Kyo lunged at Yuki, continuing to shout while I on the other hand, watched amused.

_'Ah… they're about to fight, huh? I should get a bag of popcorn for this one… Maybe that damn princey will get in trouble for a change…'_

Tohru then made herself visible to the two Sohma boys before running and tackling Kyo to the ground, resulting in him transforming.

My jaw dropped at that and I hurriedly checked to make sure no one else saw that. Seeing that all the idiots around me were just laughing about something with each other, I let out a sigh of relief, turning back to the window.

The angry cat who's hair now stood up straight on his arched back, directed his rage at Tohru through, you guessed it, screaming at her. The said girl was silent, her large, innocent eyes wide before she slowly and silently walked away looking as if she was going to cry.

I looked at her face and furrowed my brows, _'Wow…I wonder what that idiotic Volcano head had said to her to make her so upset like that…'_

Kyo, still in his cat form, had a look of immense regret and opened his mouth speaking to Yuki only for Yuki respond back at him smoothly and start to walk away. Out of nowhere, his lavender gaze somehow drifted upwards to my own silvery one, piercing them. I let out a surprised gasp, before I hardened my eyes at him into a cold glare and hurriedly stomped away from the window.

_'I think I'll go check to see if Tohru's alright… She's probably crying right now…'_ I thought to myself, beginning to roam down the hallways of Kaibara High School.

* * *

Finally, I had spotted her sitting underneath a fire extinguisher tears forming at the corners of her eyes. Beginning to come near her, I stopped midway across the room when I saw two girls rush towards her worriedly. As they began to question her, I stared for a few seconds before I swiftly turned around to leave the room.

"Stupid…" I muttered under my breath.

_'You idiot…don't be so stupid. Unlike you, she has friends. You didn't need to come and console her, she already has people that will do that for her.'_ I frowned, scolding myself.

Keeping my head down, I nearly bumped into someone but quickly moved to the side only seeing that the person was the one and only Princess Yuki. My frown grew deeper on my face, him looking at me in stupefaction while I trudged off, a scowl now etched on to my face.

* * *

It was after school and having no where else to go seeing as I was all out of money to go use the pay phone now, I started on the way to Shigure's when a familiar voice call out to me, "Airi! Is that you?!"

Turning around, I recognized it to be Emiko, a girl whom I have frequently hung out with at the parties I've gone to with Aki. She stood upon white, open toed, strappy high heels that were combined with a blue jean skirt and a grey tank top with a few golden chains hanging loosely around her neck. She currently had her normal dark heavy eye makeup along with glossed lips.

Emiko had graduated from high school about two years ago and was now currently making a living through singing at nearby pubs with her band. She was a short girl but was well matured and pretty busty. She held curly honey blonde hair(most likely dyed) that surrounded her face in loose ringlets paired with hazel colored eyes and satiny white skin. Her face was in the shape of a small heart and she contained long dark lashes, heavy lidded eyes, thin curved eyebrows, plump lips, and a button nose. Although Emiko was small, she sure could hold her alcohol which is one reason why I liked her.

Her personality is very laid-back but she could also be very funny, daring, fun-loving, and wild when she felt like it. If we hung out more, we'd probably be friends but as of now we are more like acquaintances that always see each other at the same parties or bars we go to.

I ran my fingers through my outgrown bangs, answering, "Yeah, it's me."

She chuckled before closing the distance between us, replying, "I knew it! I haven't seen you around that much though… Just where have you been?! I've been holding on to your card for _forever_ now."

I scrunched my nose, utterly lost, "Card…? What do you mean?"

Emiko's eyes widened and she gasped in disbelief, "What! You forgot?!"

Still confused, I admitted, "Um, I must have because I really have no idea what you're going on about…"

She looked thoughtful second, "Well, you _did _have a lot to drink that night but I thought you would remember…" Emiko then bluntly informed me, "You and Aki both bought fake IDs from my boyfriend when he offered to get them for you at Miki's party about a month or so ago."

My brows furrowed together, trying to think, _'Who the hell is Miki…? I don't remember something like tha-'_ I snapped my fingers, suddenly somehow remembering that night through the drunken stupor I had been,_ 'Oh, I know! I can't believe that they actually made them though! Aki had stupidly paid for us two to get those IDs… Us being so drunk together made it impossible for us to be able to tell that we were most likely going to get ripped off. I mean, come on, who would pay for an ID before you even get one? For all we knew, Emiko's boyfriend could have just taken the money and never give us the IDs… '_

"Oh, I remember now! Do you have them with you?!" I questioned, probably more eager for this than I have been for anything else in months.

Opening up her purse, Emiko smirked pulling a plastic card out, "What do you think?"

My eyes grew large and I snatched it from her as she held it out. I stared fixedly at the ID, looking at the picture and name 'Asaki Mai' before I snapped my head up, my eyes drilling into her own, a dead serious look set upon my face, "Are you sure it will work?"

She answered my question with another one of her own, smiling mischievously, "Why don't we go find out?"

* * *

"_Ohmygoddd_… The house's here!" I slurred in what could've been amazement but was unsure since I was interrupted by having to empty the contents of my stomach in a nearby bush(resulting my in me also dropping my cigarette on the ground).

When that was over, I wobbly got back up to my feet and began slowly staggering up the path to Shigure's house. I swore to myself, grumbling, as I made my way, tripping here and there, nearly falling over every few seconds. Finally, after having about fifteen minutes of trouble trying to figure out how to use the key to open the front door, I slammed the door open hard accidentally to only be greeted with silence.

Stumbling inside, it felt like the world was rocking beneath me as I gave out a few giggles, grabbing ahold to the shoji door before I flopped down on to the ground to remove my shoes… or more like my bright fire hydrant red studded ankle boots that had skinny five inch stiletto heels. Another, probably loud, string of curses left my mouth while I struggled to pull down the zipper on the inside of each shoe. For some weird reason, I couldn't get my hands to go where I wanted them to be which resulted in my amount of swearing increasing.

After what felt like forever, I got the damn stilettos off my feet and despite losing the heels, I still hobbled as I got up, flipping my sleek black hair over my shoulder that was now gathered in a high ponytail atop my head. Turning around, I saw a figure at the bottom of the stairs before it froze in place and greeted me with a loud, "IT'S _YOU_! WHAT THE HELL! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT TIME IT IS?! AND WHAT ARE YOU WEARING?!"

Ignoring all his questions, I grinned and waved at him, swaying and nearly falling over as I did so, calling out, "_Kyokyoooo_!"

I continued to enter the house and tripped into the hallway, fixing my very revealing bright red and black crop top(courtesy of Emiko's closet), as he asked me unbelievingly, eyes wide, "Are you drunk?"

At that question, I began to snigger, "N-n-no! Ofcours' I'm n-" I couldn't finish the sentence and instead, threw my head up, bursting into another fit of high pitched laughter.

"Why is it so loud, I wonder…" Shigure spoke from his study before opening the door and seeing us. I stopped laughing when I saw him enter and suddenly everything was quite.

A goofy smile smeared across the man's face, "Ah, what have you two kids been up to? Not anything naughty, I hope?"

Kyo screamed, pointing at me accusingly, "WE DID NOTHING! I COULDN'T SLEEP BECAUSE SHE WAS MAKING A RACKET DOWN HERE! I THOUGHT WE WERE GETTING ROBBED AND ON TOP OF TH-"

"Kyo, you do realize that dear, sweet Tohru-kun is upstairs, right? She's never going to forgive you, _especially_ if you wake her up in the middle of the night with all this yelling you're doing…" Shigure interrupted haughtily.

With that in mind, the cat simmered down but still looked completely pissed, about to open his mouth again to speak before I started giggling again and sputtered out, "K-k-kyokyo! You hav' tha hots for Tohruuu! I-I can't believ' it!" I started laughing all over again, holding my aching stomach at how funny this was to me right now.

He exploded again, "NO I DON'T! SHUT UP!"

Glaring at me, who was now currently still laughing, leaning against a door to maintain my balance, he quieted down but still yelled at Shigure, pointing to me for the second time, "She _just_ got home right now! And she's drunk too! I couldn't sleep because of her!"

At his words, my giggling ceased and I pouted at him, upset, "Hey! I toldchya'! I'm not… 'm not…" I couldn't find the last word to my sentence.

"Drunk?" Shigure offered.

I bobbed my head up and down vigorously, starting to feel tired, "Yeah… that."

"I told you she was, see?!" Kyo motioned at me with both hands and began to rant angrily all over again.

Mustering up all of my energy, I took shaky steps, tripping towards Kyo while he wasn't watching me while Shigure looked at me grinning, very amused for what was to come. With one last step, Kyo turned towards me, surprised, and leaned away, "W-wait! What are ya' trying to-"

I closed my eyes, grinning brightly, spread my arms wide cheering, "You _neeeeed_ t' chill out, Kyokyoooo~!" All before wrapping my arms around him in a hug as Shigure began to laugh madly.

"POOF!"

The now Kyo cat jumped out of my arms, practically hissing, "YOU IDIOT! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!"

I leaned my head on the stairs and waved dismissively, starting to close my eyes, "Geez… 's not even a big deal… You're waaayyyy cuter like that,_ Kyokyo_!"

He bristled, his voice lower but still shouting and angry as hell, "Don't call me that! I don't care what you think! You can't go around doing whatever you want, you moron!"

"Kyo?" Shigure asked tentatively, his laughter subsided for the moment.

"_What now_?!" The said person(or cat…) snapped, turning to him.

The dark haired male trailed off, looking at my form, passed out on the front of the stairs, "She's asleep…"

The cat turned, stared at me half still angry and half in shock, noted I was sleeping before furiously picking his clothes up in his mouth and climbing up the staircase, giving a pissed, "I'm going back to bed!"

Shigure giggled at Kyo before quieting down and thoughtfully gazing at me, "You're surely going to make things interesting, huh?"

* * *

I grumbled, the sun now brightly shining on my face this atrocious morning as I pulled the blanket on top of me over my head. Hearing voices around me, I deducted that my hangover from last night was _very_ bad seeing as my head felt like it was going to explode. I turned around, not facing the sun to try and fall back into my previous slumber, my mouth as dry as the Sahara desert.

Shigure's loud voice called for my attention, "…yep, and that's why our little princess is sleeping down here."

"Eh! I can't believe I didn't hear any of you at all last night…" Tohru responded, surprised at last night's events(which I currently couldn't even remember right now).

"It's better that you didn't anyways." Kyo muttered, more to himself than anyone.

Then, they all began talking about another stupid subject, interrupting my sleep by causing my head to pound every single damn time they spoke. In the end, I gave up on trying to sleep and slowly opened my glazed over grey orbs. I lifted one of my hands and used my fingers to wipe at my under eyes to make sure that the dark make up I had on from last night wouldn't make me look like a raccoon. Using my arms, I there the light blanket off my body and pulled myself up into a slightly hunched over sitting position, my legs in front of me as I gave out an audible groan at the pain in my skull.

"_What the hell_… Why am I down here?" I mumbled to myself, confused, finally taking note that I was currently residing on a futon downstairs from mine and Tohru's room, in the living room.

"WHAT! YOU DON'T EVEN REMEMBER?!" Kyo screeched, clearly outraged.

His voice caused me to wince visibly, grabbing my aching head in my hands, Shigure defending me, "Kyo, don't be so mean! She probably has a pretty bad hangover, I'm guessing…"

"Your guess is right." I deadpanned while moving my hands to rest on my lap, back in my previous position but this time looking over at everyone sitting at the table in the middle of breakfast.

"Ah, I almost forgot to ask! Would you like some breakfast?" Tohru, polite as always, inquired.

A bit surprised no one else seemed mad at me(other than Kyo who was glaring), I numbly shook my head and responded, "No, I don't really think that's a good idea… But do you have some tea?"

She beamed at me, "Yes, would you like some?"

Watching for my reaction, I simply nodded at her question at hand, not in the mood to be talking right now. Seeing this, Tohru got up from her seat, informing, "I'll go get a cup for you then!" before scurrying of into the kitchen.

Slowly, I picked up the blanket, wrapping it around me as I stood to my feet silently then moved over to the table, sitting back down with my legs crossed in front of me. I sighed deeply, closing my eyes and allowing my head to sit in the palm of my hand, placing my right elbow atop of the table. I could feel all the gazes of the boys in the room pointed at me, but decided to ignore them.

"Shouldn't you be getting ready for school today?" Shigure had finally directed towards me.

Opening my eyes tiredly, I answered dully, "No, because I'm not going."

He looked at me in surprise, "Huh? Are you sure you don't want to go? What about your grades?"

I scoffed at his words before taking my head away from my hand, telling indifferently, "Yes, I'm sure. And as for the rest… I really don't care."

Kyo put in his(unwanted) two cents, "You can't just skip school when ever you feel like it!"

I glared at him from the corner of my eye, my voice scathing, "That's rich coming from you, someone who had_ not only_ yelled at Tohru _but_ had also ditched on his first day of school, which might I add, was only yesterday."

He growled, slamming down his fist on the table, "SHUT UP, YOU!"

I rolled my eyes, biting back, "How about you calm down and just take your own advice?"

The ginger abruptly got up from the table and literally growled, before shouting, "THAT'S IT! I'M LEAVING!" And quickly stomped out of the house.

Just as he exited, Tohru then quietly entered the room and sat next to me, pouring a new cup of tea using the pot from the middle of the table. As she did so, she gazed down at her watch before gasping loudly and going into a panic, "Ah, we're going to be late for school if we don't hurry! Airi-chan, you need to get dressed!"

"Ai-chan doesn't feel well today so she won't be coming to school, Tohru-kun." Shigure put in before I could say anything.

She gave me a look of sympathy as she stood up, "Oh I'm sorry… I hope you feel better soon!"

"Thanks, Tohru." I replied plainly, picking up the cup of tea and letting it's warmth seep into my mouth.

Yuki and Tohru then walked towards the door, Tohru pausing to wave at us, "Goodbye!"

Shigure waved back, "Bye-bye, be safe!"

And with that the door shut behind them. Now it was just me and Shigure left, but at the moment I didn't care, being too preoccupied with pouring more green tea into my cup for my aching throat and dry mouth, my blanket still wrapped around me.

I took the cup into my hands, gazing down into the swirling green liquid as the steam cascaded above it and quietly spoke aloud, "I'm sorry if I was trouble for you…"

The man sat astonished at my apology for a few seconds before he blinked and grinned, "It was no problem, Ai-chan! You were _really fun_ last night!"

My mind drifted at his suggestive words, making my eyes widen, _'Wait a second… I didn't do anything with him… right?'_ I shook my head, dismissing the thought with certainty,_ 'No. There's no way I'd ever do that… especially not with that mutt.'_

Not paying any heed to his last comment, I curiously wondered what has been on my mind this whole time, "So why are you letting me stay here?", I gingerly sipped my tea, explaining myself thoroughly, "I mean, Tohru has been doing the housework and all, while I… I've done nothing… Shouldn't you have kicked me out already by now?"

"Well, what kind of people would we be to kick you out when you don't have anywhere to go? You need help, am I right? This is just until you get back on your feet." Shigure spoke, allowing the words to set in. But, somehow, the smile he wore looked as though it was hiding something.

Putting that to the back of my mind, I questioned skeptically, my eyebrows knitting together since I had never explained my situation to him, "And how do you know I have no where to go?"

He chuckled, "That's because you certainly wouldn't be here if you did…" Opening his eyes, he gave me a serious look, answering, "I can tell that you're not that fond of us, especially of Yuki… When I think about it, I don't think I've ever even seen you smile the whole time you've been here."

I responded boredly without thinking, taking another sip out of my cup, "Don't wait around for that one."

Shigure's face grew puppy dog eyes as he whined, "Why not! Are we really that bad?! I wanna see Ai-chan's smile!"

I looked off to the side of the room, sighing, "That's not it… I just…"

He stared intently at me, urging me to continue, "Just what?"

I shook my head, brushing off my words from before, "It's nothing. Forget about it."

The dark haired man took in my expression and decided to leave the subject at hand, instead bringing my attention to him, "About what you said earlier, you're allowed to stay here as long as you like… and you need to worry about us kicking you out…" He smiled kindly at me, "This is a safe place, okay? So don't be afraid to talk to any of us. We all really aren't that bad."

_'You may not be… but I am.' _I thought to myself, my eyes drifting from Shigure to the table in front of me.

I nodded pensively at his words without looking at him, "Mm, okay."

* * *

After my conversation with Shigure, I had taken a long nap(no bad dreams this time surprisingly) before getting ready so I could meet Tohru after school which is where I am now currently waiting. I stared distantly at the large tree above me, planning the rest of my day,_ 'If I recall from what she said before, Tohru has work today so I'll come with her there and put in my application for the job… Then, I'll go try and apply to other places to work at before meeting up with her to go home.'_

Yes, if you're wondering by now, I have decided to get a job. One, because I'm all out of cash and two, so I can pay rent to Shigure seeing as I can't do house chores or cook even if my life depended on it.

Soon spotting the familiar brunette, I called out a bit louder than my normal tone for her attention, "Tohru, over here!"

She saw my form from far away, confusion evident on her face as she neared me. Once the sweet, innocent girl finally arrived at my side she asked worriedly, "Airi-chan! I thought you don't feel well, shouldn't you be at home?"

"It's okay, I got some sleep so now I feel better," I said calmly, hoping to soothe her.

"That's good but…um… Why are you here?" Tohru inquired only to make her eyes widen and move her hands in front of her body rapidly, "Ah! I didn't mean to be rude! It's just that school is over and-"

"I'm here to walk with you to work." I interrupted, starting to get used to her mini rants.

"Huh?" She paused in the middle of her freakout.

As she let her hands fall to her sides, I explained, "Yeah. I decided that I'm going to get a job and wanted to see if I can get at the building you work at."

Tohru was silent for a second then smiled brightly at me, starting to get excited, "Mm, okay! That would be really fun if we could work together!"

I agreed with a quick bob of my head and we started on our way to her workplace. I pondered, "Oh yeah, Tohru, I forgot to ask before but what kind of work do you do at your job?"

She twirled her thumbs, "Uh well, it's mostly cleaning… We're the janitors for the building…"

"Ah…" I trailed off before bluntly inputing, "I can't work there."

* * *

The shiny full moon beamed down from above us, resulting in me to pause for a moment to look up at the dark night sky containing gray puffy clouds within its grasp. A frown set in on my face, _'It's probably going to rain tomorrow…'_

Tohru and I were currently walking to Shigure's house, occasionally making conversation(Tohru did a better part of the talking) but mostly staying in comfortable silence. I had found a job after a few hours of searching at a small ramen shop near Tohru's work which was great and since they were low on waiters, when I came in, they hired me without a second thought or even asking if I've had any experience(which I didn't at all).

Looking over at Tohru, I noted that she seemed a bit dejected.

_'Maybe it's about what Kyo said to her…'_ I wondered, about to ask her what was wrong when she determinedly straightened up and clenched one of her fists in front of her, the other hand holding tightly onto her schoolbag.

Opening my mouth to speak, I heard leaves rustle from behind me, as if someone was coming towards us. I tried to ignore it and calm myself down as well as Tohru who looked terrified, whispering as I pulled the petrified Tohru up the path, "It's okay… It's just the wind… or maybe an animal…"

A branch snapped and we both froze.

Tohru whispered back to me, scared, "I think it's a person… it might be one of those perverts Shigure warned us about!"

Looking at each other, I heard footsteps nearing this and breathed out hurriedly, "Okay, stand behind me. I'll take care of it."

_'I'm sure as hell not going to let this creep win without a fight.'_ I thought, getting myself in a position ready to strike who ever was behind me.

Hearing the footsteps come to a halt, I swerved around, about to aim a punch right at whoever dared to come after us when I paused in the action, my eyes widening at the person in front of me, clearly stunned, "…Kyo?"

He glowered at me as I dropped my hand to my side, "Were you just about to hit me?!"

I glared angrily at him, yelling, "Of course I was! You can't just go sneaking up on people in the middle of the forest like that, you dumbass! For all we knew, you could've been some pervert or something!"

Kyo appeared like he was going to retort something but held his anger back, staying quiet. The tense silence becoming too much for Tohru, she began to babble, "Uh, ah…funny meeting you here, Kyo-san…and you're not carrying anything! Are you taking a walk because of this nice weather tonight?! Oh and what about school… How do you like it?! Have you-"

"Stop it," He interrupted harshly, "If you have something to say, then say it."

I looked at him pissed, going to say something when Tohru spoke up, "Um…"

Both of us now staring at her, Kyo questioned, wanting her to go on, "Yeah?"

"Um… I… I don't know what to say…" Tohru confessed.

I face palmed and Kyo turned around as to not face her, shouting, "Then don't say anything!"

"I-I'm sorry!" She squeaked out, holding onto her bag for dear life.

He turned back around, covering his face, sighing, "Ah, no! That wasn't what I meant… It's not your fault, so don't apologize… And um, about earlier…"

My eyes widened at his words and I realized that he was trying to apologize to Tohru. Figuring that I didn't want to stick around to watch(and also wanting to play my Gameboy), I slowly turned around and began to walk away wordlessly knowing that the two were too distracted to notice that I was leaving.

I kicked a pebble I had found on the ground, I thought to myself, _'Huh… that idiot gets credit. I guess he isn't as much as an asshole as I thought he was…'_

* * *

**AND THAT'S A WRAP. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and please make sure to review! Make sure to stay tuned for the next chapter! L-O-V-E YOU GUYS!**


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